MARIJUANA ON THE HILL: IS IT A DANGER OR A DELIGHT? FIRE ME UP by Mitchell Scott ULLR AND JAH ARE BEST BUDDIES. I'm sure of it. For eons they've been chillin', getting high and skiing sternum-deep powder every day. Ullr, the revered god of winter, gets to hang in the mountains tossing about snow and weather, while Jah, the almighty leader of the Rastafari, goes about promoting peace, freedom, and herb. Two cool gods, living large in god world. It isn't obvious, but in the detailed textures of the natural world, these two call us to cajole. That is, to smoke marijuana and ski. And they're not just calling out to stoner-with-dreads-so-long-they-get-caught-in-the-bull-wheel ski bums. A diverse demographic enjoys inhalation of the herb and immersion in the pow: businessmen, carpenters, lifties, pro skiers, instructors, slednecks. Even the random snowblader... maybe. I describe this population because sometimes I join them. Skiing high can be a mystical experience. A visit with Jah when riding an old fixed grip, or in one of the many secret smoke spots throughout North American ski resorts, is a wonderful precursor to visiting Ullr. Turns seem more fluid, senses are more apt to grab and hold the vistas and sounds that rush by. It's not like I can't ski if I'm not high, but when in the arms of what the Rastafari call the Tree of Life, everything seems more vivid, slightly accentuated. As well, the way I see it, there's got to be a reason why the symbiotic relationship between marijuana, kinetic energy, and skis opens a sanctuary where mind and body fall in line with the challenge and reward of descending snowbound mountainscapes. I mean, answer me this: Why does the hemp =FCberplant exist? A simple weed that grows everywhere (including your basement), that features beautiful, fragrant, female organs that when smoked make the human mind bend and meld and move in odd directions bringing to light new ideas and perceptions...in my opinion, providing a portal to the natural world. And unlike alcohol or tobacco or harder drugs, marijuana is all-good. The non-addictive, mellow, nonlethal, organic stimulant is only illegal because, as a society, we're struggling to emerge from infantile mentalities leftover from the totalitarian world politic of the '30s and '40s. For millennia, people of all creed and kind have smoked some sort of naturally grown weed to slightly skew their consciousness. No matter how mild or malicious - a little puff before tracking game, a toke or two before the annual intertribal canoe race - the tradition of smoking weed has a long history of cultural relevance. This tradition prospers in mountain communities where many of Ullr and Jah's disciples converge. I'm one of these. One of the many riders who loves to summit at 4:20 p.m., hot box the ganjola, or share a bowl at the bottom of a skin track. And I would say that many of us are addicted to the shared consumption of pot and planks. Not physically, however, more like someone who can't go a week without church. Whether it's an epiphany-saturated climb to the top of a gnarly north face, or a chest-deep storm session, the inhalation of one of Mother Earth's most fruitful buds definitely accentuates the experience. The way I see it, Ullr and Jah like it that way. And, most purposefully, so do I. POT AND PLANKS: EXTREMELY STUPID by PAUL and DR. JOHE AMNESIA AND ISIS ARE TWO COOL LADIES. They have been tokin' and skiing since time began. Amnesia, goddess of forgetfulness, has recently taken up makin' snow angels, as she has now lost seven pairs of skis and a snowboard. Seems she just can't remember where she left them. Isis, goddess of fertility, is happy she finally has her son, Stoned, but wishes she could potty train him. He's five. Amnesia and Isis, like Ullr and Jah, have been chillin', getting high, and skiing deep powder for many years. There are myths and truths about smoking marijuana. Actually, there is now some solid scientific research that addresses the effects of smoking weed. We'll let you decide whether you should smoke and ski. Pot adversely affects strategic locations in the brain including the hippocampus, where linear thinking occurs, the medulla which modulates intensity of pain, and the cerebellum, which coordinates movement and balance. If you don't believe us, read about it in Rolling Stone Magazine, March '99. This article says that research shows weekly pot smokers risk potentially serious damage to some mental faculties and their lungs. Adolescents who get high regularly may retard emotional and intellectual development. Skiing takes a lot of coordination. Pot smoking has been shown to adversely affect the cerebellum, the balance center at the back of your brain. Isn't balance what skiing's all about? Today, most scientists agree that marijuana does affect cognition at least temporarily, and maybe permanently in heavy users. Electrophysiological and neuropsychological studies show that the"stupid" feeling one gets when high is real: perception is altered, short term memory is lost, and attention is decreased. Depth perception, coordination, and peripheral vision are altered. Most of us find we need these cognitive faculties to ski, so we don't run into a tree, fall down, or misplace our equipment. Yes, alcohol is probably worse. Studies down under in Victoria, Australia, show that drunk drivers cause more fatal accidents than drivers high on grass. However, there are more drunk drivers. Pot tends to slow you down; alcohol makes you brave. Brave drunks go fast. Speed kills. Does one then make the correlation that driving on marijuana is safer than booze? State laws say no. "Wow man, I didn't see that wombat, did you?" Again, you decide. Research from UCLA indicates frequent pot smokers inflict more damage to their lungs than cigarette smokers, Incidents of head and neck cancer are increased. Studies show sperm counts are lowered in men, and menstrual cycles are affected in women. At Duke University, researchers found changes in hormonal production. Infants born to pot-smoking moms have low birth weight. These children show deficits in sustained attention, memory, and higher cognitive function when they get older. So all of you addicted to pot and planks, remember (or don't) that marijuana does reach into the pain center of the medulla oblongata and will ease the ache of that broken leg, at least for a while.
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